B L O G

July 29, 2010

Look after your teeth with oral hygiene advice from Shepperton dentist

Shepperton dentists have always stressed the importance of good oral hygiene when it comes to looking after your teeth. Brushing and flossing well on a daily basis can really help to make the difference and could prevent all manner of serious dental health conditions as well as keeping your breath fresh and your teeth looking their best.

The most important aspect of oral hygiene is definitely brushing. This should be carried out twice a day with a suitable brush. Dentists recommend using a brush that has a small head for maximum access to the most teeth. It should ideally have soft bristles to remove the most plaque and bacteria from the surfaces of the teeth. Brush your teeth for three minutes trying to angle the brush towards your gums. You must never forget that the health of your gums is just as important as the health of your teeth.

Next to brushing comes flossing. This is important because it is not always possible to clean the areas between the teeth of the small areas between the teeth and gums around their base. These are often the areas where decay and disease begin, so flossing daily will give you the best chance of avoiding these problems. Try to floss at least once a day using appropriate floss. Your dentist can recommend suitable brushes and flosses at your next check up.

Which brings us nicely to the third prong of the oral hygiene attack; the dental check up. No matter how clean you think you keep your teeth they are still at risk from bacteria and plaque. Seeing a dentists every six months will help to catch any signs of gum disease or tooth decay in its early stages when it is the most easily treated. Make yourself a check up appointment today.

May 12, 2010

Oral Hygiene and its importance in our dental routine, by a Worcester Park dentist

Oral Hygiene advice is free, and anyone who ignores it does so at their own peril. It is a tried and tested preventative way of keeping our mouths, teeth and gums free from early decay and disease, says a Worcester Park dentist. Flossing is something that most people over look, yet it is so important in the prevention of all problems our teeth encounter. Flossing will remove most of the food particles trapped in between the teeth; this debris is full of natural and unnatural sugars and fats. The bad bacteria in our food lives off this debris and then dies, it is then deposited onto the enamel of our teeth and forms a hard material called Tartar. Tartar is the off white deposits that usually lay at the bottom and top of the teeth, sitting initially on the border between the root and the gum line. When this gets out of control it starts to eat away at the protective layers of gum that guard the root, when this happens infections will set in. One of the most devastating consequences is a receding gum line, this exposes the vulnerable part of the enamel and it wears down quite quickly. This will lead to the tooth breaking off and causing us more problems. The bacteria can also leak into the blood system and cause heart and other problems, and all for the sake of a few minutes flossing.

May 1, 2010

The best oral hygiene advice from Weybridge dentist

Many of us go to the gym or exercise regularly to keep our bodies in the best shape possible. However, the increasing number of patients developing gum disease and tooth decay in the UK would seem to suggest that we are not paying the same attention to our teeth. Many people seem to think that just a cursory brush of the teeth twice a day is enough to keep the teeth clean and healthy but this really isn’t the case.

Effective oral hygiene is really important to help you avoid dental health complications in the future. Just a few extra minutes a day could make the difference and help to prevent any unnecessary damage to your teeth and gums. Weybridge dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day for three minutes. Ideally this should take place after meal times, as this is when plaque is at its most damaging. Effective brushing will remove plaque and bacteria from the surfaces of the teeth, limiting the damage caused by enamel erosion from plaque acid. This will help to prevent decay, infection and ultimately tooth loss. You should ideally use a brush with soft bristles for the best cleaning and so as not to irritate gum tissue.

It is also very important to floss at least once a day. This helps to remove plaque from between the teeth and from around the base. These are areas that are notoriously very difficult to clean with a normal toothbrush. Flossing also helps to remove food particles that are trapped in between the teeth that attract bacteria and can be the cause of bad breath.

It may also be a good idea to use a tongue scraper a few times a week to rid the tongue of harmful bacteria. This will also help to prevent unpleasant bad breath. Most importantly however, you must remember to visit your dentist regularly for a check up appointment. Seeing your dentist every six months will help to keep your teeth and gums as healthy as they can be, giving you a life free from dental complication.

March 2, 2010

Bad breath remedies, some advice from a Surbiton dentist

Bad breath is a social problem that will lose you more friends than anything else in life, says a Surbiton dentist. The problem usually arises out of a lax or badly orchestrated oral hygiene program, although eating spicy foods heavily laced with garlic, raw onions and chillies will also give you bad breath. Bacteria builds up in the mouth, and the odour is a by-product of the reaction between bad bacteria and those food bits. Rinsing will cure the problem temporarily, but you can’t beat a good and vigorous brush, floss and rinse every time you eat. It often isn’t possible to do this after every meal, and then flossing at least will help a lot in eliminating it. Cupping the hands and sniffing is a waste of time, the nose is filled with the odour and cannot usually detect it, and a bad taste will normally be a good indication of the problem. Sugar in coffee or tea, and these drinks themselves will encourage the production of acids and this will increase the smell quite quickly. Chewing will produce not just a minty taste and smell, but it will also produce saliva that will quickly neutralise acid build up and therefore bad breath. Smoking will also give you a bad breath problem, as will a beer breath the morning after a drinking session, the two combined will make it even stronger and harder to get rid of. It isn’t a good idea to keep disguising the problem; you need to work at eliminating the cause in order to have some long term relief. Giving up smoking and excessive drinking will not only make you healthier, but it will make your breath healthier as well. Flossing every time you clean your teeth, along with using the proper brush and brushing method is a must to keep your mouth healthy and your breath clean.

February 16, 2010

A Sunbury dentist advises on children’s oral health

Just because our children will lose their milk teeth and grow adult ones, doesn’t mean they don’t need to be taught oral care. A Sunbury dentist has spoken out about the lack of oral health care in children; it seems that children aren’t being taught about oral hygiene until later in life. The problem may be that we tend to think about our children’s teeth at a much later stage in their development, than we do about talking and walking. A baby can develop teeth problems from the moment they are born, even before our children get their milk teeth they can develop dental disorders. Acid build up in their mouth is a by-product of milk formula which is counteracted by their saliva production, but we tend to feed them just before they are due for a sleep. When sleeping their saliva gland stops producing and acid builds up, this eats at the enamel when they get their first molars. If we start associating cleaning the teeth with a fun attitude, then they will pick up good oral hygiene habits early. We also need to make sure that they have the right tooth brush, use the correct tooth paste and learn to floss as early as possible. It is also important that they get into the habit of regular dentist visits; this is to get them into the habit and also to eliminate any dental phobias they may develop. As we teach them to do simple things like learning to swim, so they don’t develop a fear of water, we would be doing them a big service in our parental duty in teaching them to keep their teeth and have no fear of getting treatment when they need it. A nice smile and a building of confidence will also be a reward of early learning in oral hygiene care.

February 15, 2010

A Surbiton dentist advises on the complications of untreated abscessed tooth

An abscessed tooth is a painful and uncomfortable matter, it is caused by bacteria leaking into the gums and infecting the inside. If it isn’t treated immediately then complications will quickly occur. These can result in other teeth becoming infected, and the loss of more teeth will generally follow. Oral hygiene is an important part of preventing infections in the mouth and a lack of it is a dangerous thing. Other complications can lead to heart problems, and diabetics are also prone to infections of the blood. Once bacteria gets a hold then gum infections will spread quickly says a dentist from Surbiton, one of the big problems facing a dentist is that some people have a morbid fear of the dentist, and the pain and discomfort of an abscess will often be better to bear than facing our fears. Although these fears have little foundation, they are no less embedded in our psyche, even a visit to the doctor can be complicated to a sufferer where a tooth problem is involved. However, the long term problems of an untreated abscess will be devastating for the teeth and could end in the loss of a lot of teeth, plus blood poisoning. A simple course of antibiotics is usually all that is needed, and within a week a dentist will be able to look at the root cause of the abscess and then teat it. If the infection gets into the cavity of the inner chamber of a tooth then a root canal treatment may be needed. This is only possible though if the tooth is saveable, and a lot of teeth won’t be saveable in cases where long term damage has been done to an abscessed tooth. Prevention is better than a cure, so to avoid an abscess it is better to have a good oral hygiene regime.

February 7, 2010

A Kingston-upon-Thames dentist explains all about dental sealants for children

Dental sealants are usually given to children who are between 6 and 10 years old, it is a measure that protects their teeth from further damage caused by acid production and normal wear and tear. The cavities that cause the problems are usually on the teeth at the back of the mouth, this is normally due to a couple of reasons, firstly these teeth are the most common used to chew food, secondly these teeth are hard for children to clean as most tooth brushes are too big to get into the cavities and eliminate the bacteria deep in the tooth. The solution is a simple one though and it works very well, it lasts for about 10 years and is also easily repairable during that time. Similar to a normal filling the tooth is numbed and the cavity is cleaned with a drill, then the cracks are cleaned out to get rid of any hidden bacteria. Acid is then brushed into the cavity and left for a few minutes; this is to give the next stage a better bonding surface. The acid is rinsed with a water spray, and then the area is air dried to make sure it is completely dry. The plastic solution of the filler is brushed on using a hard, short bristled brush, then that solution is bombarded with an intense light source to set it hard. If it cracks or becomes chipped it can easily be repaired using the same method. This method is a very successful way of protecting the teeth of our children in their most vulnerable years; it doesn’t mean though that we can be lax in their oral hygiene care. They need to floss and brush as usual to prevent other problems, and make their teeth last well into their adulthood.

October 2, 2009

Interdental cleaning stops bad breath says Worcester Park dentist

It is the contact points between teeth and chewing surfaces that are most prone to tooth decay, because food particles and plaque easily get stuck in those areas. Plaque is the filmy substance that coats our teeth attacking the enamel. An accumulation of mucus, decaying food matter and bacteria, plaque increases the acidity of the pH in the mouth which gradually erodes tooth enamel causing cavities and gum disease (also known as gingivitis). Food particles and bacteria in the mouth are also one of the man causes of halitosis, or bad breath, as it is more commonly known.

This happens because the food particles that get stuck, in and between teeth, are decayed by the bacteria present in the plaque. This causes the release of foul smelling sulfurous deposits that are expelled when you breathe out. Worcester park dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice a day with an appropriate toothbrush and flossing at least once a day to combat bad breath and tooth decay. Brushing and flossing helps to fight plaque, which can eventually turn into tartar and removing by a dentist.

Brushing and flossing are the two most important weapons in the war against plaque, but some conventional toothbrushes find it hard to get to those hard to reach places. This is why flossing is so vital to get to those tricky between teeth areas. There are several types of floss including dental tape and superfloss. Your dentist will be able to recommend the most suitable kind for you.

You might also consider using an interdental brush. These brushes are designed to get to the parts that other brushes can’t reach. Single tuft brushes are particularly good at removing trapped food particles from between the teeth. A Worcester Park dentist can show you how to effectively use interdental brushes. Toothpicks and sticks are also useful to remove any unwanted particles.

As with most areas of oral hygiene, prevention is the key to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Effective brushing and just a few extra minutes of care a day to clean between your teeth, could save you a lifetime of appointments and painful procedures.

July 18, 2009

Interesting Facts on Preventing Gum Diseases by Surbiton Dentist

People often neglect oral hygiene due to which plaque and tartar get deposited on the teeth. Plaque is a white coating present in the teeth which can eventually lead to the destruction of the enamel. You have to remove this deposition regularly to keep your teeth well protected from infections and diseases. Daily brushing and flossing will help in maintaining a beautiful smile.

Nutrition plays an important role in protecting your teeth against foreign bodies. Let me explain to you a few food substances which will provide you a healthy mouth. These criteria are laid down by the dentist in Surbiton.

• Celery- Chewing this food substance will help in increasing the saliva in your mouth which will neutralize the Streptococcus bacteria. They are responsible for the formation of cavities in your teeth. You can try a snack of raw celery and carrots daily to keep your teeth healthy.
• Cheese- It contains calcium, low carbohydrate and phosphate which balances the ph levels in your mouth. It also rebuilds the tooth and enamel and prevents gum diseases.
• Green Tea- It contains catechins which kill the bacteria that turn the sugar present in the food substance into plaque. Regular consumption of green tea will also help to control your bad breath.
• Kiwi- It contains vitamin C which has many actions on the teeth. If adequate amount of this vitamin is not taken it will loosen the collagen network of the gums resulting in plaque and tartar accumulation.

You should take care of your teeth as they are an important organ in the body. Maintaining a healthy diet is one of the important factors in keeping your teeth free from diseases.

Visit Sunbury Dentists for Smoking Cessation Advice

Dentists in Sunbury are holding hands together to help people quit their smoking habits. There are many techniques developed which will prove beneficial for the people to come out of their bad habit. Tobacco addiction is increasing nowadays and it is high time to make people aware of the bad effects of this habit. There are many health hazards which can be avoided by stopping smoking permanently. Cancers, renal failures, cardiac complaints and pulmonary diseases can be controlled to a great extent by quitting smoking. Researches are going on with relation to dental surgeries which can decrease smoking in people.

Dental nurses are given special training to deal with patients who are chronic smokers. Counseling will help people to drop their bad habits and try to lead a normal life. According to the recent studies conducted it has been reported that people between the age group of 18 to 45 are getting addicted to nicotine. The constant stress in their life and job are making matters worse. Smoking cessation advice is beneficial for the overall health of the patient. Tooth decay and infections are common in people who are exposed to regular smoking.

This matter should be handled with care as it is sensitive. Oral cancers and gum diseases are often seen in such persons. These ailments occur recurrently and are hard to treat. Dentists can advice people the importance of oral hygiene and the steps they should take to protect their teeth. They can also suggest different food substances which will increase the shine of the teeth. Good oral hygiene is also important to prevent further infections.

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